Chapter 440: Sword Refinement
Han Li's vision had been obstructed by the vast expanse of swords before him, and by the time he spotted the streak of crimson swordlight, it was already too late for him to take evasive measures.
In this dire situation, he quickly channeled his Spirit Refinement Technique before unleashing his Spirit Stun Thorn. [1]
All of a sudden, Xiong Shan felt a cold harrumph ring out in his mind, and a burst of sharp pain speared through the head, resulting in a split second of disorientation.
The streak of oncoming crimson swordlight abruptly shuddered and drew to a halt around 10 feet away from Han Li, and this minuscule delay was enough to turn the tide of the entire battle!
The Mantra Treasured Axis in Han Li's body spun rapidly in reverse as he flapped his Thunderstorm Wings vigorously while also drawing upon his Azure Luan Bird bloodline, allowing him to reach an astonishing speed as he flew to one side of the streak of crimson swordlight before piercing all five of his swords toward a single spot.
A resounding boom rang out as the streak of crimson swordlight exploded, and violent shockwaves erupted in all directions, causing Han Li to throw up a mouthful of blood as he flew back several thousand feet into the vast torrent of swords behind him.
At the same time, scraps of black metal flew out of the streak of crimson swordlight that had just imploded, and they converged in mid-air to reform the black metal scripture.
A figure then stumbled out of thin air, looking deathly pale, and it was none other than Xiong Shan.
A huge hole had been torn through his chest, and his heart had already been completely destroyed. The dark red patterns on his body appeared to be intact, but in reality, they had already been severed into countless pieces.
There was a deranged look on his face as he used his longsword as a crutch while stumbling toward the metal scripture, but with each step that he took, a chunk of flesh would fall off his body, and by the time he reached the metal scripture, only a bare skeleton of his remained.
Immediately thereafter, the golden longsword in his hand also shattered into countless pieces that flew away in all directions.
A streak of golden light flew out of the top of the skeleton's skull, forming a golden nascent soul with a weary look on its face. The nascent soul turned to look at Han Li, who had only just steadied himself several thousand feet away, and it murmured to itself, "Is this the design of fate..."
As soon as its voice trailed off, the nascent soul also disintegrated into golden light, while Han Li looked on with mixed emotions.
He didn't harbor much enmity toward Xinog Shan, and they had been comrades several times in the past. If it weren't for Xiong Shan's insistence on hunting him down, he would've avoided this battle entirely.
With Xiong Shan's demise, the sword array in the sky instantly fell apart, and all of the flying swords suspended in the air came raining back down into the Boundless Sword Sea.
Han Li flew up into the air before drawing Xiong Shan's storage bracelet into his grasp, then reached out to grab the metal scripture as well before descending onto the floating altar in the sky.
He examined the metal scripture in his hand to discover that it bore the appearance of a piece of shattered chinaware. Its surface was riddled with extremely deep cracks, and it looked as if it could crumble away at any moment.
A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face as he scrutinized the metal scripture.
Having gleaned the secrets of the golden light barrier from earlier, he had learned how to use this sword refinement array, but he didn't know if the metal scripture could support the sword refinement process in its current terrible condition.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he sat down with his legs crossed and set the metal scripture aside, then swallowed a pill before closing his eyes to meditate.
A short while later, he rose to his feet and picked up the metal scripture again, then cast his gaze toward a certain direction as he murmured to himself, "I have to give it a try. I suppose it could be considered as completing your dying wish in your stead."
With that, he tossed the metal scripture forward, and it immediately lit up as it flew back onto the altar.
After that, Han Li began to chant an incantation while making a rapid string of hand seals, and the cloud beneath the altar was reignited, transforming into a sea of crimson flames once again.
......
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor.
A green jade flying carriage that was around 100 feet in length was racing through the sky.
At the front of the carriage stood a tall man with a disk treasure held in his hands. A layer of white mist was hovering above the treasure, and there was a speck of red light that was flashing incessantly at its center.
"Could those maggots from the Reincarnation Palace be responsible for this?" the man murmured to himself with a perplexed expression.
There was a pair of golden armored puppets standing behind him with halberds held in their hands, and they displayed no reaction.
......
Halfway up the Boundless Sword Sect mountain, Lu Yuqing was standing with her silver longsword clasped behind her as she looked up at the mountain summit.
Her vision was still obstructed by the dense mist up above, and there had been quite a loud commotion ringing out a little earlier, but it had since subsided.
It seemed that whatever was taking place up there had concluded, and peace and quiet were restored.
As for the wooden puppets that she had been battling, they had already been reduced to a pile of wood scraps strewn all over the ground around her.
After a long hesitation, Lu Yuqing finally made up her mind, setting foot onto the stone staircase to make her way up toward the mountain summit.
......
On the floating altar, Han Li was sweating profusely as azure light surged all around him.
His 72 Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were currently suspended above the hollow section at the center of the altar, and they seemed to have been arranged into some type of special formation with arcs of golden lightning surging between them.
Meanwhile, balls of glowing sword essence of different colors were constantly rising up and surging into the swords from the scorching flames down below.
As time passed, fewer and fewer swords remained in the Boundless Sword Sea, while the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords absorbed more and more sword essence, and the collective aura that they were releasing became more and more formidable.
Han Li was observing the process intently with bated breath.
As the final batch of sword essence flowed into the 72 flying swords, a faint crack suddenly rang out up above, and Han Li's heart immediately sank slightly upon hearing this sound.
Immediately thereafter, radiant golden light erupted out of the cracks on the metal scripture, and it looked as if it were about to explode.
With the example set by Xiong Shan earlier, Han Li was well aware of the consequences that would ensue if the metal scripture were to be destroyed, so he hurriedly swept a sleeve through the air, trying to pull the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords away from the altar before getting away.
However, as soon as his immortal spiritual power came into contact with the flying swords, a burst of lightning that was interspersed with tremendous sword qi instantly erupted out of the swords to pulverize his sleeve.
Immediately thereafter, a numb sensation spread through his entire body, rendering him temporarily immobilized.
Right at this moment, a burst of white light suddenly flashed over his storage bracelet, following which a peculiar palm-sized jade badge flew out from within before drifting directly toward the metal scripture.
Han Li was quickly able to identify the jade badge as something that had been given to him by Elder Qi Heng of the Holy Puppet Sect.
During their battle all those years ago, Qi Heng had once unleashed the Seven Deaths Sword Array of the Boundless Sword Sect, and it seemed that this strange jade badge was something from the Boundless Sword Sect as well.
Before Han Li had a chance to ponder this matter any further, the jade badge suddenly began to glow radiantly while becoming completely transparent, and a series of threads of golden light emerged within it to form a string of antiquated characters that read "Boundless Sword Core".
Following the emergence of the golden characters, the white jade badge gradually fused as one with the light radiating from the metal scripture,
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out, and a dense dark cloud suddenly appeared out of nowhere above the altar. Azure and purple light was flashing incessantly within the dark cloud amid bursts of rumbling thunderclaps, and golden light abruptly flashed within the eyes of the golden dragons coiled around the eight surrounding pillars, as if they had suddenly sprung to life.
At the same time, they were giving off vast auras, and it seemed that they could fly out of the pillars at any moment.
Immediately thereafter, the eight dragons opened their mouths at once to blast forth streams of crimson flames toward the center of the altar, and the flames converged in mid-air to form a raging sea of fire.
As soon as Han Li's bodily functions returned to him, he immediately flew through the air to situate himself outside the altar.
Immediately thereafter, the sea of flames came surging down from the heavens, inundating the entire altar in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, a resounding thunderclap rang out in the sky, and a waterfall of azure and purple lightning came crashing down, plunging straight into the scorching flames.
It was impossible to see the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords through the lightning and fire, and even Han Li's spiritual sense was unable to make any inroads.
Only now did the sword refinement truly begin.
Han Li wore a complex expression as he sat down in mid-air and observed from afar.
Three days passed by in the blink of an eye, and the mouths of the eight dragons coiled around the pillars surrounding the altars.
The sea of fire that engulfed the altar had expanded even further compared with three days ago, and bolts of azure and purple lightning continued to rain down from the heavens into the scorching flames below.
Han Li was standing near the sea of fire, and it seemed that he had already recovered from the injuries that he had sustained from the prior battle, but there was a slightly anxious look in his eyes.
The sword refinement process had gone on far longer than he had anticipated, and it was completely out of his control, so all he could do was stand and wait. Fortunately, Xue Han and the others hadn't entered this place up to this point.
Inside the daoist temple down below was Lu Yuqing, who had arrived on the mountain summit some time ago.
At this moment, she was casually strolling through the daoist temple, stopping in front of a dilapidated pavilion one moment, then crouching down in front of a moss-covered well the next.
She was constantly inspecting her surroundings with a slightly lost look in her eyes, and it seemed as if she were struggling to recollect something.
1. For more information on the Spirit Stun Thorn, please refer to RMJI Chapter 1046: Devil Slaying. ?
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